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United States Patent | 6,061,870 |
Dodge ,   et al. | May 16, 2000 |
A bushing system for isolating movement of a rotatable member from a releasable fastener used to secure the member to a support structure. The rotatable member may be a strap and the support structure may include a wall of a boot or a binding. The bushing may include a shaft having, at one end, a network of rotation resistant radially extending teeth or interlocks that cooperates with a complementary network of interlocks provided in the support structure about a mounting hole. The interlocks may have rounded or angled sidewalls that converge at a tip to encourage the bushing and support structure to mesh together. The tip is preferably substantially pointed with a fine edge, a rounded edge or a substantially narrow flat edge. A bore through the shaft is adapted to receive a screw or other fastener for securing the bushing to the support structure at the mounting hole. The bushing extends through an opening in the strap mounting the strap for rotation relative to the support structure. Engagement of the interlocks renders the bushing nonrotatable, isolating the strap from the fastener so that strap rotation does not loosen the fastening connection.
Inventors: | Dodge; David J. (Williston, VT); Reuss; Stefan W. (Burlington, VT) |
Assignee: | The Burton Corporation (Burlington, VT) |
Appl. No.: | 003855 |
Filed: | January 7, 1998 |
Current U.S. Class: | 16/2.1; 36/50.5; 280/618; 280/633; 411/132 |
Intern'l Class: | F16L 005/00; H02G 003/22 |
Field of Search: | 16/2.1-2.5 403/97,96 411/546,136,132,143,148 280/607,617,618,619,626,629,633,634 36/50.5,58.5,58.6 |
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Foreign Patent Documents | |||
2 757 411 | Jun., 1998 | FR. | |
195 09 629 | Aug., 1996 | DE. | |
WO 95/19205 | Jul., 1995 | WO. |